I’m a little behind at my tally of Gubernatorial appointees, in terms of how many Democrats, how many Republicans, etcetera. I’ll blame my tardiness on my campaign for Party office. That said, I’ve dutifully saved the releases, and will play catch-up soon.
In the meantime, today the Governor announced some appointments worthy of noting right away:
GOVERNOR APPOINTS HEAD OF POLITICAL EFFORT TO PASS BONDS TO COMMISSION THAT WILL DOLE OUT BOND FUNDS
The Gov has appointed James Earp to the State Transportation Commission: When I saw this appointment, my eyes popped out of my head. I cannot even imagine the logic behind ‘rewarding’ the political efforts of the Chairman of the Campaign to pass last year’s bond measures with an appointment to the extremely powerful State Commission that will be doling out much of the funds. Yet, in a shades-of-Gray-Davis move, that is what the Governor has done. Understand that James Earp, a Democrat who has served as chairman of the Yes on 1A-1E Campaign (and spent over 20 years as a construction union leader), spent last year raising the funds from the special interests who stand to benefit from all of the bond spending. I’m not suprised that Earp took the appointment — after all, he knows who ponied up the most to pass the bonds, right? But I am VERY surprised, if just because of an appearance if innappropriateness, that Governor Schwarzenegger would make this appointment. If Earp is technically qualified for this position, it is hard to even get there given the stinky politics of the appointment. Quite disappointing. I note that this appointment came through right AFTER the State GOP Convention. Nice.
I’ll close on this appointment by saying that I am no expert in the State Transportation Commission, nor do I have a comprehensive understanding of Earp’s duties as the leading person in the effort to pass the bonds… So if someone has something to add to this observation, that might mitigate my concerns, please share that with our readers.
OK, some better appointments…
SOFT LANDING FOR AGUIAR
Former GOP Assemblyman Fred Aguair put in years of service to the Governor has his Cabinet Secretary and as an Agency Secretary, and now he is moving on. Recently replaced by the esteemed Dan Dunmoyer, Fred’s future plans have been the subject of water-cooler discussions. Well, discuss no more — he has been tapped to serve on the obscure but profitable Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, making a hefty $123,987.
ARNOLD GRABS MALDONADO’S CHIEF OF STAFF
William "Chris" Mowrer has been appointed deputy secretary for legislation for the California Resources Agency. Mowrer has a storied history working for GOPers the Capitol. He currently is Chief of Staff to Abel Maldonado where he has been since 2005, and before that he was Chief of Staff to then-Assemblywoman Lynn Daucher. Known for his frequent attempts at being humorous, he will invariably provide much amusement for Resources Secretary Mike Crissman.
ANAHEIM MAYOR IS ON THE FAST TRACK
Curt Pringle, the Mayor of Anaheim, has been appointed to the High Speed Rail Authority. Curt heads up his own public affairs and consulting firm. Previously, he served in the California State Assembly from 1988 to 1990 and 1992 to1998. While in the Assembly, Pringle served as Speaker in 1996. This position comes with no salary – thanks for your volunteerism!
ZETTEL TO RETURN TO SAN DIEGO
Charlene Zettel has been appointed to the San Diego Regional Airport Authority Governing Board, which pays a very healthy $171,648 a year! She’s been serving as the head of the Department of Consumer Affairs since 2004. Zettel served for six years in the Assembly. She had previously served as a member of the San Diego Regional Airport Authority from 2002 to 2004.
FORMER WILSON STAFFER PRESSED BACK INTO SERVICE
Schwarzenegger has appointed Dale Bonner to be the new Secretary of the Business, Transportation and Housing Agency. This post oversees a vast state bureaucracy, and will be quite a handful for the Los Angeles-based Attorney. Welcome back to government service!
February 14th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I think the blame for this kind of appointment needs to go to Susan Kennedy. When she was Gray Davis’ Chief of Staff, she was always involved with the shady deals (Google “Susan Kennedy, Oracle”) and now she is taking advantage of the fact that her boss, the Gov, gives her a lot of lattitude. She doesn’t understand that Davis was recalled for exactly this kind of thing. But then, if you ask HER, she’ll tell you the recall was unfair.
February 15th, 2007 at 12:00 am
I’ll start off with full disclosure: Jim Earp has been a client of ours for two years. But, rather than conflict me out of responding to this post, I think it makes me uniquely qualified to comment on Jim’s character and qualifications.
The selection of Jim to the CTC is not only good for our state’s transportation future, but it’s good for the taxpayers of California. Anyone who has worked with Jim Earp –Republicans, Democrats, business, labor or others — knows he is one of the most honest and trustworthy practitioners around. Those aren’t words I toss around lightly.
For more than a decade, Jim has been an advocate for fiscally responsible infrastructure investments on concrete and asphalt, not pork and sausage. Jim hatched and led the successful effort to close the Prop 42 (gas tax) loophole in the face of fierce opposition from those who wanted to preserve the legislature’s ability to redirect these funds.
Jim is not a partisan. That’s why he was a natural leader for the Prop 1a-1e campaign and also why so many Republicans have endorsed his appointment to the CTC. Jim received backing from Republican elected officials, business leaders, and many others.
I understand you didn’t support passage of all the bonds. But obviously, the voters of California did. The question now is how we responsibly allocate the transportation funds on projects that address congestion relief and goods mobility. Jim will be a strong guardian of taxpayer resources and a powerful advocate for common-sense allocation of funds to the areas where they are needed most – based on need, not political calculations.
I wouldn’t dare use the word “post-partisan” in this space. But you get my drift.